Gil's Past
by janvy
Summary: Someone from Gil's past comes back. She carries a history with her that's interwoven with Grissom's. He helped her before can he help her again? I would love to hear what people think about my story. I'm not the best at this, but love to write. Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I wrote the story, but didn't create anyone except Maddy.

Glancing around the room, he noted the wide variety of colors the designer had used. Reds and purples and oranges and creams. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the choices, no pattern discernible. Yet it all came together to make the room feel cozy. It drove him crazy.

"Professor Plum in the study with the candlestick," Catherine broke through Grissom's musings.

"Nah, more like a maniac painter broke loose from the asylum," Grissom shook his head then turned back to his long time friends. "I'll handle this if you want to go find the victim."

Catherine watched him curiously, "Uh, Gil, didn't Brass tell you **why** he asked for you to come?"

Puzzled now, Gil cocked his head to the side.

Continuing, Catherine put her hand on his arm, "The victim, she's in shock and not talking. She has an LA coroner's office business car with your name hand written on the back in her purse. Jim thought it was worth a try to have you talk to her before she went to the hospital."

He pursed his lips deep in thought. He hadn't been at the LA office in a long time. Nodding, her turned and went in search of his good friend, Jim Brass. He was the one who had called him to the scene of the rape, a townhouse fairly close his own home. Gil found Brass sitting in what appeared to be the kitchen, his back to the doorway blocking Gil's view of the victim. A female cop he didn't recognize stood in the corner. When she opened her mouth, Gil silenced her with a shake of his head. He stood there unnoticed, listening to his friend.

"M'am, I know this is hard for you, but we need to you to talk to us…your neighbor saw the guy leave. We know something happened…please," he pleaded. Shaking his head at her silence, he glanced up at the female cop, "You seen Grissom yet?" The slight nod at the doorway caused Brass to turn in his seat, revealing the suspected rape victim to Gil.

Brass started to speak, but Grissom wasn't listening. His blue eyes immediately locked with the young lady's green eyes. A sense of relief seemed to course through the room. The lady's cold, shocky stare warmed completely upon seeing Grissom. She offered a weak smile. Brass glanced at the girl after Gil failed to respond to him. Seeing her reaction caused Brass to look back at his friend, "Uh, Gil?" 

Grissom didn't have to think long before the right name surfaced in his mind, "Madeline Oaks." 

Just like that, the tears started to form, "Dr. Grissom."

The distance between them disappeared as Gil walked the few feet. He ended up on his knees, his arms around this girl. Jim pushed his chair back giving them more room. He looked up at the doorway where Catherine now stood, question evident in his eyes. She shook her head confused. Grissom rarely talked about his personal life. This girl called him Dr. Grissom though, signaling she must know him in a professional manner. She appeared to be too young to have been his student when he taught in LA, though. This left Catherine mystified.

After several minutes, Gil pulled back and just watched Madeline take a deep breath before opening her eyes. She gave him a small smile and whispered wordlessly, "Thanks." Seeing that she had sufficiently pulled herself together, Grissom stiffly moved from his knees to another chair. He kept his hands holding hers.

Catherine and Brass had to both move forward in order to hear Gil's whispered words, "Maddy, girl, you're all grown up."

"That's what happens, Dr. Grissom, after fifteen years. As a doctor, you should know that," Maddy replied with a real smile.

Without looking at either of his friends, "Gil squeezed Maddy's hands, "It's good to see you, girl. I should have guessed that madness of color you call your bedroom was yours." A quick glance at Jim brought him back to the reason they were here. "Maddy, honey, you're going to have to go to the hospital and get…a…get a kit done. Is it okay if Catherine, she's a good friend of mine, if she goes with you to do the kit?"

As Grissom finished his sentence, he turned to look at Catherine to get an okay from her. Both she and Grissom missed the panicked looked on Madeline's face. Brass caught it though and watched in amazement as it disappeared just as quickly by the time Grissom turned back to face Maddy, who just nodded mutely in agreement. Jim spoke for the first time since Grissom had fully entered the room, "Gil, why don't you accompany the ladies to the hospital? I'll call one of the other guys to come process the scene."

At this Grissom turned his full attention back to Maddy, "How does that sound?"

Bottom lip quivering slightly, Maddy nodded and made a move to stand pulling away from Grissom while still remaining well within his personal space. She kept her eyes on her feet, "I'm sorry for acting like a baby."

Catherine stepped forward to answer before either of the guys could talk, "Maddy, you have nothing, NOTHING to be sorry about. I would be in a total basket case by now if I were in your shoes. You're doing just great, honey."

Maddy looked up at Catherine, "I think I like you."

This broke the tension in the room as everyone started laughing.

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After the exam at the hospital, Catherine finally got Grissom alone while Madeline changed into some fresh clothes, "Alright, spill it."

Feigning innocence, Gil asked, "Spill what?" This illicited a growl from Catherin, "Okay, okay, Madeline used to be a student of mine."

"You used to teach pre-school or something? She told her doctor she was twenty-nine."

"She was the smartest thirteen year old I've ever had the pleasure to teach."

Catherine's jaw dropped, but she didn't have the time to respond as Madeline came around the corner now dressed in a clean pair of jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket that Catherine had procured from her dresser before they left for the hospital. Unsure of what she was interrupting, she said softly, "The, uh, doctor, um, said I can go. Would you be a-able to, uh, take me home?"

Gil and Catherine exchanged looks. Her house was now a crime scene. There was no way she could go back there until they released it. Catherine took matters into her own hands, "Madeline, it's about time for dinner. Would you like to join us?"

"Dinner? It's the middle of the night," Maddy looked puzzled.

"Welcome to the life of a night shift CSI," Catherine put her arm around the younger girl, directing her out the nearest hospital doors.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, Maddy, Gil tells me you two used to know each other from his LA days," Catherine asked sometime later as the group sat eating. She couldn't help but notice that this girl had taken the seat next to Grissom…and he didn't seem to mind. Most rape victims tended to shy away from men, but Maddy seemed to draw power and strength from Gil. She also seemed to act a lot younger than her years. Sitting here now, Catherine noticed a single lock of blue hair mixing in with the rest of her dark brown hair, not noticeable unless one was almost looking for it.

Maddy sighed, "I, uh, I used to date Dr. Grissom's supervisor's son."

Catherine raised her eyebrows. Gil grimaced, having not revealed this sooner to provide Maddy with some privacy, "Maddy was also a student of mine. I've never had a student quite as bright as her."

"Dr. Grissom-"

"Please call me Gil, Maddy. I'm not your professor anymore," Grissom interrupted.

Maddy started to speak, then stopped. She started a second time. When she went for a third try, Catherine came to her rescue, "Or you can just call him Grissom, or Griss. A lot of the staff does."

This was met with a grin, "Grissom, I'm okay with telling people about Steven. I'm not going to broadcast it or anything, but I'm **also** not going to hide it."

Gil stared at her, but his gaze was unfocused. He bit his lip, looking for all the world like he was trying to find the exactly right to say what he wanted to say. He was stopped by a hand on his own hand, which was on the table in front of him. Surprised, he jumped a little, but focused his gaze on Maddy, who spoke, "It's not your fault what happened, Dr. Gri- It's not your fault, Gil."

Catherine sat silently watching. Tears started to well in Grissom's eyes. This time Madeline was the strong one who embraced Gil as he started to cry.

After several long moments, the two pulled apart, Gil took a deep breath before he spoke, "I was always afraid you blamed me for Steven."

A mischievous grin lit Maddy's face, "For other things maybe, but not that."

"You're so good for me," Gil gave Maddy a quick squeeze before releasing her completely to go back to his meal.

Maddy finally looked up at Catherine, meeting her gaze, "Dr. Grissom was one of my teachers at the University. We had to meet one day and it was more convenient to meet at the coroner's office. I just kind of never left. I ended up meeting Steven one day while I was helping Dr. Grissom. Steven asked me out and I said yes…which was one of the biggest mistakes in my life."

"Was he abusive?" Catherine asked quietly, already knowing the answer. As soon as Maddy nodded, Catherine reached around the plates of food to put her hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you."

Maddy looked up into Catherine's green eyes, "You, too, huh?"

Grissom broke the moment by asking, "Did I miss something? You ladies are talking in girl speak."

Catherine chuckled, "Girl speak, the language no guy dares to decipher."

He grinned boyishly, knowing he had successfully defused the situation. This girl was special, and he didn't know how much time he'd been given with her. He didn't want to spend all of that time depressing her. He held his hand in the air waving for the check.

Realizing that time had now come for them to go, Catherine excused herself to call Warrick for an update. Grissom looked at his hands. Now came the tough part, going against his earlier thought, "Madeline…we need to take your statement." He could feel her tense up. When she didn't respond, he ventured a sideways glance at her. It was Catherine's return that jostled her out of her state. She looked up and smiled grimly at Catherine. Gil placed a calming hand on her shoulder, "We have to back to the station."

Catherine nodded, "Warrick and Sara finished processing your home, Maddy. They're headed back to the station, as is Brass."

After a quick nod from Maddy the group trooped out the door.

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Brass led the group into an interrogation room at the station. Maddy stopped short of following Grissom. She pulled Catherine to a stop with her, "Um, can – do I have to do this will **all** of you? Can I just talk to the officer? You and Dr. Grissom can listen in, but I'd like to feel like I'm talking to one person."

Not saying a word, just nodding slightly, Catherine slipped past Madeline, "Gil, let's you and I head out."

Gil stopped short. He turned to Maddy and, seeing a hopeful look on her face, he consented. He backtracked out of the room stopping only to place a hand on the younger lady's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

Maddy stood in the hallway, watching as Catherine and Grissom disappeared into the observation room next door before heading into the room before her. She nervously took in her surroundings. A large mirrored window on one side, gunmetal gray walls, large chipped metal table with several chairs. She resolutely held her head high and marched forward, sitting down facing the mirror, knowing she had an audience, but determined to get through this humiliation.

Respect filled Jim's face. Both of them knew what was coming. Jim had seen the results of the rape kit. This woman had been raped and violently at that. Now she was going to have to live through that hell again. He took a seat on the same side Maddy was now sitting. He smiled at her, "So, Madeline Oaks…I understand we have a mutual friend."

"Yeah…Dr. Grissom. I used to know him. He was a professor of mine back in LA. I ended up helping him out in his labs after I was done with classes.

"Huh? Gil hasn't been in LA in over ten years," Jim propped his head on his hand, leaning toward this girl. "You can't be older than twenty-five."

This received a real grin and a blush, "I'm…I…You flatter me, Detective. I'm twenty-nine. I started taking college classes when I was twelve. Guess I was starting to act out in class, so my dad enrolled me in college to keep me occupied. It worked. That's where I met Dr. Grissom. I took a class of his my second year. We needed to discuss a project I was working on. He couldn't leave a time line he was observing so I met him in his office. We hit it off I guess."

"No offense, but you look like you'd drive Gil up a wall," Brass said laughing, gesturing to the lock of blue hair.

"Yeah, I know, I know. I think I do at times, but he's too much of a gentleman to admit it. I also think he's just being nice to me, but hey, I'm not complaining. Dr. Grissom's a great guy."


	3. Chapter 3

"Does she really drive you crazy?" Catherine asked in the room next door.

Gil's eyebrow rose, "She is the sweetest girl and one of the smartest people I've ever had the privilege of knowing. The only thing that drives me up the wall about her is how she can take things that don't appear to go together and make them just fit and feel right. You should see her art. Chaotic!" Grissom shivered as if saying a bad word.

Catherine laughed.

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"Anyway, I was following Gil around one day and met a drop dead gorgeous boy. He was seventeen. I was thirteen. It was love at first sight. Come to find out he's Dr. Haste's-" Madeline stopped abruptly, her face going green. She bent forward, grabbing her stomach, whispering, "Dear God, dear God, dear God."

Feeling VERY out of his element, Jim frantically gestured for Catherine or Gil to get in there.

In the observation room, Catherine looked to Gil to find that he was already gone.

In the interrogation room, Gil ran in, dropping to his knees in front of Madeline for the second time that night and reached out for her. She jumped back and away from him like he was going to hurt her, knocking the chair over in her need to get away from him. She crossed her arms in front of her, protecting herself, "Dr. Grissom's gonna hate me. Dr Grissom's gonna hate me. Dr. Grissom's gonna hate me." She backed herself into a corner, shaking.

When Gil made a move towards her, Jim stood blocking his way. Catherine went to Maddy, "Madeline, honey, it's okay. What's wrong? What's Dr. Grissom gonna hate you for?"

She just shook her head, tears streaming down her face, murmuring, "Dr. Grissom's gonna hate me. He's gonna hate me."

"Maddy!" Catherine reached out to the other woman, placing a hand on her elbow. This knocked Maddy out of her state. She grabbed Catherine's hand and with a quick move had the older lady in a wristlock with her wrist bent awkwardly over her shoulder. Maddy stopped short of breaking Catherine's wrist and throwing her to the floor. Jim and Gil never had a chance to even move to protect Catherine.

Releasing Catherine from her grasp, Maddy dropped to her knees. Catherine, not realizing how close she had been to many months in a cast, turned back to Maddy, going to try again to get through to her. Gil stopped her with a firm shake of his head. He moved forward to kneel by Maddy. He swiftly grabbed Maddy by both her shoulders and pulled her up to look at him. "Maddy, Madeline Oaks, look at me NOW." The tone of his voice left no room for argument.

She looked up at him through tear stained eyes, recognition finally registering, "I'm so sorry, Dr. Grissom. Don't hate me."

Gil spoke lowly as he reached forward and grabber her, pulling her close, "Madeline, I don't hate you. I don't hate you. It wasn't your fault. It was Steven's fault. Not yours, not mine. Madeline, Maddy, it was Steven's fault, not his dad-" Just like that, Maddy made to pull away, but Grissom pulled her tighter into a bear hug, not letting her free.

Shock filled the room. Catherine and Jim watched as their shy, definitely NOT touchy-feely, entomology friend clung to this girl who was roughly half his age, whose relationship to him was unknown.

When her fighting subsided, the room quieted to just a few sobs, all the fight having drained from Madeline. She started murmuring, "It was him, Doc. It was him, Steven's dad. He did this to me. He did this."

Gil's pause was hardly noticeable. He continued to hold Maddy to him, rocking her back and forth, "Honey, what did Dr. Haste do to you?" 

"Dr. Grissom, he- he- Dr. H-Haste, he raped me."

Again, Gil paused, this time longer before he continued to pat Maddy encouragingly. Catherine and Jim both started understanding what this meant to Gil. Dr. Haste was Gil's lifelong mentor. Now Catherine started putting the puzzle together. Steven was the guy who abused a thirteen-year-old Maddy. Steven's father, Gil Grissom's lifelong mentor, was the man now accused of raping a twenty-nine year old Madeline.


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: Not mine

Still kneeling, Gil continued to pat Maddy's back encouragingly as she told her story, "I was at home in the bedroom. I heard a noise, glass breaking. It was my front door. That's how…that's how access was gained. When I heard the glass break, I went down to look, but didn't get a chance. At the bottom of the stairs…a…a…I was picked up, over his shoulder and carried back to my bedroom. I kicked, fought…bit. He-when we got to my bedroom, he grabbed my hands and tied them together with…with duct tape. Dear God, why? Why me? First Steven, now him. I'm a nobody. I'm NOT even that good looking."

"I don't want to hear that. You are somebody. You are a beautiful young lady," Grissom thought about pulling back to look her in the eyes, but decided against it, fearing she would bolt. "You are beautiful. People love you. I love you. Maddy, Steven couldn't see what was in front of him. You are a beautiful, caring individual." Grissom held Maddy close.

Deep breaths were all Maddy could manage. Gil's knees were killing him. He maneuvered so he was now sitting down with his legs stretched out in front of him, Maddy on his lap, like a child. Catherine and Brass moved closer, sitting down as Maddy continued, "He tied my arms, taped them to the headboard. I was wearing my favorite pair of pajama pants…God, Dr. Grissom, he took that away from me, too. He took that."

Gil smiled faintly, "Maddy, girl, I'll buy you a new favorite pair of pants. He took a lot, but he didn't take you."

"After he got me down, he ripped my pants. Then he ripped my underwear off. He put his hand…he…his fingers…he put them in my…he wanted me wet. I didn't do anything," Maddy's buried her head further into Grissom's shoulder.

Reaching around Grissom touched Maddy's neck, drawing Jim's, Catherine's, AND Maddy's attention to a deep gash that was there, "He had a knife?"

Maddy reached up to her own neck, feeling the raw cuts, "Oh, God." She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, trying to relax. She opened her eyes and started to talk, almost as if reciting facts, "One hand, his right hand had a knife to my neck, his left hand was at his pants. He removed himself. He stuck his fingers in me, saying, 'This is what you wanted. This is what you get doing that to my boy.' Then he reached down and put himself in me. Something happened, a voice outside, something. He pulled out and must have disappeared. I don't know how long I was there. I was afraid to move, afraid he'd come back. Then a cop was in the doorway. I didn't ask Steven to do what he did. Why does Dr. Haste blame me?"

"Honey, you didn't deserve Steven's abuse. You were not responsible for his death. Dr. Haste has no right to blame you or hurt you. He's a sick man. We'll catch him so he doesn't hurt you or anyone else," Gil pulled back now, holding Maddy's shoulder with one hand, the other under her chin so he'd be able to hold her gaze.

Jim spoke up, "I think that'll do for now. We'll have our guys out there find him. Thank you, Madeline."

"What you did was really brave," Catherine leaned forward and put an arm around Maddy's shoulders.

Maddy looked up and smiled at the older woman through her tear stained face, "Do you – um – where's the restroom?"

"Come on, I could use a trip to the little girl's room, too," Catherine stood up and reached a hand to help Maddy up.

Once the ladies were gone, Jim turned to his friend, "Gil, what's going on?"

Gil looked down at his hands. He didn't answer, slowly getting up from the floor. He strolled over to the large mirror staring at his own reflection, "Jim, I never knew Maddy's age until she turned down a job I offered her in the lab at the coroner's office. She just smiled this crooked smile and said, 'You don't know how old I am, do you?' She was just thirteen, but she seemed like she was thirty. She was always so old, intellectually, but socially inept. When Steven Haste first asked her out, she dropped the stack of files she was holding. She was so happy at first, so happy. Running around smiling, nothing could get her down. Then, she started getting depressed. One day in the lab, there were several of us working. She was just watching. An intern spilled some acid on her. We all turned away so she could take her shirt off. Before I turned though, I saw it. I hadn't even realized she had been wearing long sleeves, even though it was warm out. The sleeves had covered the bruises on her wrists. Dammit! She didn't deserve what he did to her. I should have caught on before. I'm trained to look for these things and I didn't even notice. I didn't see it. If I had, it wouldn't have gone on for so long. They had been dating for something like six months." Tears streamed down Grissom's cheeks now.

Meeting Gil's eyes in the mirror, Jim watched his friend. Gil had never shared with him why he never communicated with his once close mentor, Dr. Jacob Haste. When asked, he always proclaimed, "It was my fault."

"Steven killed himself before he was brought to trail," Grissom shook his head. "It was-I could never talk to Jacob the same. Nature versus nurture. Why did Steven do it?"


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

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Two sharp knocks made Grissom turn his back to the door. As Brass stepped in front of his friend to further block anyone's view, the door opened. Catherine stepped in, with Maddy hot on her heels, saying, "Maddy, I think it's time we can go."

"Do you have someone you can stay with?" Jim asked.

"Uh," Maddy looked scared at this prospect, "Ah, no. I-I don't know that many people in town."

Jim looked at Catherine. She shook her head, "My mom is already staying on our couch."

"Maddy," Gil said without turning around. "I'd be honored if you'd be my houseguest, if that's okay with you. My guest bedroom is clean."

"Um, Gil," Jim said stepping next to his friend. He asked barely above a whisper so the ladies couldn't overhear them, "Is this a good idea? What will Sara think?"

His hands now in the pockets of his khakis, he turned around and said loud enough for the entire room to hear, "Maddy is like a sister or a cousin to me."

Catherine's eyebrows rose. She could just imagine what Jim had asked. Maddy showed her crooked half smile for the first time. She chuckled, "Detective, Dr. Grissom was a mentor, a good friend, a long time ago."

Brass let out a short bark of laughter, "You never know with Gil."

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Grissom handed the bag Catherine had given him to Madeline when they got our of his Denali. Maddy looked at him quizzically. He didn't answer her until he unlocked his front door and stepped into his townhouse. He turned to her as he placed his keys and wallet on the table next to the front door, "Sara grabbed some clothes for you at your house."

"You have some good friends," Maddy grinned, following his into the kitchen.

"You will, too, once they meet you, " Gil commented as he pulled out a cold pitcher of water from the refrigerator and poured two glasses. He then asked, "Maddy, girl, why are you in Las Vegas? When did you get here? Where have you been?"

"Aaactuallyyyyyy," Maddy drew the word out as she looked at her glass. She sat down, dropping the bag next to her, "I just got a new job as an artist."

Gil looked at his guest, sitting next to her at the breakfast bar, "Why are you throwing your talents away? You have such an amazing scientific mind. You could do art on the side-"

"Dr. Grissom," Maddy interrupted. "I haven't even started my job yet. The city of Las Vegas has hired me as their new forensics artist. They'll loan me out, but my main place will be here."

A broad grin now filled Gil's boyish face. He reached an arm out and squeezed her shoulders, "Maddy, you'll be working with us? I knew Ecklie was hiring someone, but…"

"Yeah, I know you wanted me to go into entomology, but bugs are just…eeww!"

"Spoken like a typical female," Gil's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "You are one of the very few who've gotten an A in my class, I'll have you know."

" I just want you to know that I could make a living off my art," Maddy smiled, and then glanced out the window, watching the sun start to rise over neighboring houses.

Gil watched as the stress of the past few hours seemed to fade away from his young friend's face. "Madeline, you could. I've actually had a few offers on the piece I have in my office."

"Really? What piece is that?"

"The one of the Las Vegas skyline."

"Your going away present," Maddy chuckled. "The painting of you as a ten year old was much better."

Grissom spit out the water he had just been attempting to drink. Reaching a hand up to wipe his mouth off, he grimaced, "**That** went to my mother immediately. I couldn't bear to throw anything of yours away, but I couldn't have that **thing** anywhere that people could see it. I still can't believe Mom gave that picture to you."

"What can I say? Everyone loves me," Maddy stifled a yawn.

Gil stood up and grabbed their glasses, placing them in the sink. "We'll catch up more tomorrow. The bathroom is at the end of the hall. Your bedroom is the last room on the right. Mine's the last on the left."

Standing up now, Maddy grabbed the bag beside her, "I'll go use the bathroom. I won't be long."

"It's okay. I don't have to be at work until ten or so tonight," Grissom started washing the glasses and his other dishes. "Take your time."

With that, Maddy nodded and started to head off down the hallway. She stopped abruptly and retraced her steps. She bit her lip, then looked at her friend, "Dr. Gri – Gil…thank you for helping me today."

Gil glanced at Maddy and smiled, "It's not a problem, Madeline. You're most welcome."

Maddy nodded again and made her way down the hall, shutting the bathroom door behind her.

As Gil finished washing the few dishes in the sink, he thought about the past. He was happy that was able to spend time with Maddy. She had always confused him. When they had first met, she was young. He knew that, but not HOW young she had been. When he found out her age, he'd asked about her family, not knowing what else a thirteen year old had to talk about, even though they'd had plenty to talk about before he knew her age. She just smiled and informed him that it was just her and her dad. He then found out through quiet inquiries that her dad was a **very** respectable man. He was working two jobs to support him and his daughter, allowing her to go to college and to not have to worry about money. When asked about her mom, Maddy replied simply, 'She didn't want me.'

Shaking his head, wondering who wouldn't want Maddy, Gil dried his hands and headed to his own bedroom. He noted that her bedroom door was shut and the bathroom door was now open. He smiled to himself, genuinely glad he was able to help her. He then frowned, knowing questions from his co-workers would come tomorrow when they found out that stoic Grissom had a life. He shut his own bedroom door and shut the blackout curtains, glad that he had invested in them for both his personal bedroom and the guest bedroom. He stripped to his boxers and was asleep within minutes.


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

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There was a loud buzzing. Gil rolled over and hit his alarm clock. He sat up, shaking his head as if to clear the cobwebs. He had fallen sound asleep, despite the fact that Sara was not with him. Usually a light sleeper, he wasn't used to the deep rest he now felt. He stood up yawning, heading out his bedroom door. Stepping into the hallway, he noticed Maddy's door was open. Looking down, he decided he didn't want to scare the poor girl. He went back inside his room and re-emerged moments later in a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt.

He wandered down the hall, now smelling coffee in the air. He peered around the corner, unsure of what to expect from the girl in his townhouse. He had Sara's routine down fairly well, but he knew Maddy from so long ago. He smiled when he saw Maddy sitting at the breakfast bar watching the stovetop. He came further into the room, taking car to tread loudly so Maddy would hear his entry. She didn't turn to him, but stood and approached the stove. Leaning down she pulled a pan from a side cupboard and sat it on the stove. Gil watched as she soundlessly turned her back to him and approached the refrigerator. There she pulled out a bowl that he distinctly remembered having washed the day before. She turned, again with her back to him, and made her way back to the stove.

She poured a light yellow liquid into the frying pan. As she grabbed a fork to stir the food, she said, "I was wondering when you'd be up. I took the liberty of preparing some scrambled eggs. Is that okay with you?"

Gil gasped for air, not realizing he'd been holding his breath while he observed her. He didn't voice his worries though. He sat at the breakfast bar and watched his former student move with ease around his kitchen, "That's perfectly fine, Madeline. Make yourself at home."

Two sharp raps at Grissom's townhouse door caused both of them to turn. The door opened and Catherine called out as she entered, "Gil, Maddy…you two up?"

A grin spread across Maddy's face. She genuinely liked Catherine. Maddy turned from the scrambled eggs, setting the fork on the counter; she went to greet Catherine, following Grissom to the door. Catherine came through the door with Nick Stokes right behind her. Gil looked Maddy's way concerned, not sure how she would take the intrusion by a guy she didn't know. He stepped forward, semi-protecting Maddy, knowing she didn't need protection from Nicky. He made quick introductions, "Maddy, you remember Catherine Willows, and this is Nick Stokes. He works with us. Nick, this is a good friend of mine from my days in LA, Madeline Oaks."

The Texan knew of the case, having been briefed by Catherin early this morning after she made her way back to the station. Catherine had found Nicky working on the evidence from Maddy's case. Catherine had filled Nick in on exactly who Maddy was. Knowing Nick's past and knowing Maddy's situation, Catherine thought Nick could prove to be a good friend to the young girl. Nick nodded to Madeline, not daring to even reach out to shake her hand like was engrained into his upbringing, "Nice to meet you, m'am."

Maddy looked at Grissom, who nodded, not quite sure why he was nodding. With Grissom's approval, Maddy stepped forward and held her own hand out to shake Nick's hand. Surprised, but happy, Nick stepped forward, past Catherine and took Maddy's hand in both of his and warmly shook her hand. Maddy shyly look up into Nick's eyes, then turned her head quickly towards the kitchen. She pulled away from Nick's warm grasp and ran to the kitchen.

Taking in Nick's puzzled glance, Grissom sniffed the air, "The scrambled eggs. Would you like to join us?"

Catherine grinned, "We'd love to." She moved past Gil and Nick and went into the kitchen to help Maddy.

Nick looked at Gil, "I-uh-is she okay with me being here, sir?"

"I'm not quire sure. Just be careful. Watch her mood. Read her. You know what you're doing," Gil placed a hand briefly on Nick's shoulder before turning and moving into the kitchen himself. Nick shook his head with a smile, he couldn't remember the last time Grissom had initiated touching him in a friendly way. He followed Grissom into the kitchen area where Catherine had stepped up next to Maddy and was cutting some fruit.

Grissom paused, hoping Catherine wouldn't ask why he, a supposedly single, absent-minded bachelor, had a bunch of healthy food in his fridge. Unfortunately, Nick spoke up, "Fruit? Gris, I thought that your fridge would be full of old blood and other things that would make even Doc Robbins loose his lunch."

Looking at Grissom, Maddy grinned before turning to Nick, "We stopped by the store before heading here."

Catherine turned to Gil questioningly. She knew that wasn't the truth, but when he didn't correct her and only went to grab dishes to set the table, she turned back to Maddy. She spoke in a low voice as Nick followed Grissom to grab some glasses, "There're candles on the coffee table, a home-made dish towel in the sink, and some fresh flowers on the kitchen table. You didn't stop by the grocery store."

"When was the last time you were here, Catherine?" Maddy asked in an equally low voice.

This caused Catherine to pause to think. She'd been busy with Lindsay and with Sam. "Um, it's been awhile."

Maddy gave Catherine a lopsided grin, but didn't respond, just looked over Catherine's shoulder, which caused Catherine to turn and jump when she found Gil right over her shoulder, "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. I may consider sharing later," Grissom grinned evilly as Nick called out.

"Ladies, is there anything else we can do, or do you three want to sit there and have a quilting bee while gossiping?"

"Your Texas is showing, boy," Maddy grinned, glancing over her shoulder. "The food is almost done so hold yer horses."

"And I think your LA is showing, Maddy-girl," Gil laughed. "Get your smart ass over there and entertain our guest, while I talk to missy here." He grabbed the handle of the pan from her as he asked, "Catherine, can you get more eggs and milk out here so we can feed you two."

Maddy stood frozen a second. She had never been good with people and now Dr. Grissom sent her to play nice with an unknown stranger. He knew she hated new people. **He knew**. Taking a deep breath, she plastered on a smile and went to join Nick at the table, "So where are you from exactly?"

Nick knew how to get people to relax. He leaned back, "Well-" He was cut off by a knock at the door. Everyone turned to Gil.

"Hey, don't look at me. Having you three over has to be some kind of record for me. I didn't invite anyone," Grissom held his hands up.

Another knock sounded. Maddy spoke up, "Well, someone's got to answer the door and since it is your house…"

Grumbling, he made his way to the front door as the three of them sat back. He heard Catherine say "I'd almost say this felt like a party." He shook his head and opened his front door to be confronted by the last person he expected to see. "Conrad?"


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

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"Gil? How come you're not answering your phone? I've been calling you for several hours," Ecklie pushed past Grissom as he entered the front hallway.

"I had a personal emergency. Catherine knew that," Gil watched his boss, wondering what was going on.

"And I left a message on your voicemail AND with your secretary AND sent you an e-mail," Catherine defended Grissom as she made her way to the two men.

Looking at Catherine surprised, Ecklie went on, "Yes, but I needed some information that only Gil could provide me. I need to know about the case he was called to last night. The last time anyone saw the victim, he was with her. I need to find her."

"You're talking about Madeline?" Catherine asked before Gil could talk.

"Yes, Ms. Oaks is new to town and happens to be our new forensic artist. I come in this morning to find out that she was viciously attacked in her home last night and by an entomologist if what I am hearing is true. Then she was last seen leaving the station early this morning with our local entomologist. And **no one** had the courtesy of letting me know," Conrad spit out.

"Conrad, the case is night shift's. Catherine has taken the lead in the case. I just found out early this morning that Madeline is the new forensic artist-" Gil tried to explain.

Catherine cut him off, "You didn't tell me that we'd be working with Maddy."

"I haven't had a chance, but that is all the more reason why we shouldn't be gossiping about her. It is an ongoing case that Catherine and Nick are working on. I also believe Warrick and Sara helped a little last night."

"I like the not gossiping part," Maddy spoke up. Catherine stepped out of the way to show the lady to the two men. Nick was standing protectively by her side.

"Ms. Oaks? What are you—are you okay?" Ecklie sputtered.

"Yes, I am, thanks to Dr. Grissom and CSIs Willows and Stokes. Conrad, I would appreciate if CSI Willows would be allowed to stay on the case. If there is already gossip going on at my soon to be new place of employment, I would appreciate that the less people be told. I thank you for your concern, though, Conrad. It's touching," Maddy spoke forcefully.

Ecklie seemed to be mollified by what Maddy said. "I just wanted to make sure that your case was being handled by the most appropriate person available-"

"I think that having a woman on my case would be the best for me. And as long as the gossip doesn't go too far, I will still be in to work on Wednesday morning as per our last discussion." Grissom, Nick, and Catherine watched this exchange with great interest. This new lady was speaking to the assistant director with great confidence that whatever she said would be accepted.

"I'm sorry, Madeline. I just want to make sure that you weren't scared off by our city. The city of Las Vegas needs someone like you added to our staff. We can't afford to lose you now that you've agreed to work here," Ecklie said, starting to back out the door.

"It would take a lot more to scare me off than what happened. All I ask is that the police department find the man who did this to me. Captain Jim Brass should have the report. He can fill you in. Again, I ask for your discretion in this matter, Conrad. It's hard enough to start a new job, let alone one where my co-workers are investigating my rape," Maddy took steps forward as she talked, following her new boss out the door. "Thank you once again for your concern and for stopping by."

"You're welcome, Ms. Oaks," Ecklie said to Madeline before turning to Grissom, "Gil, we will talk tonight about your not answering your phone." With that parting shot, Ecklie took off.

Grissom shut the door and turned to face his young friend, "Is there something you forgot to tell us?"


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

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A chuckle is all that Maddy could muster as she looked at Grissom, Catherine, and Nick, who had made his way to the front door upon Ecklie's exit. "I can't talk about it right now."

"Just tell me you're not friends with Ecklie," Catherine demanded.

"Rest assured, we're not friends. In time, the truth will be known," Maddy let her newfound friends know.

"Now that we know Maddy isn't in league with the devil, let's get back to breakfast. I don't know about you all, but I'm a bit hungry," Nick said, accepting Maddy's answer. He headed back into the kitchen, Catherine following close behind.

Grissom reached his hand out and stopped Maddy, "Maddy, girl, you okay?"

Nodding, but not quite reaching Grissom's eyes, she said, "Yeah, for now. I will tell you eventually, sir, but I made some promises."

He gave her a quick hug and then said as he started to make his own way back into the kitchen, "I trust you."

"Do you trust me enough to meet the lady in your life?"

Those words made Grissom stop dead in his tracks. He slowly turned around and said, meeting Maddy's eyes, "I didn't know how you'd react to a bunch of strangers. Sara's at her place. When you're ready to meet her, let me know. She wants to meet you."

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"Wow, were you a cook in a past life?" Catherine asked as the two ladies sat at the table relaxing with a cup of coffee as the guys washed the dishes.

"It was just me and Dad growing up. He worked a lot, and someone had to cook," Maddy said, taking a sip, watching Nick's backside appreciatively.

Catherine smiled as she watched Maddy, "So, you like Nick?"

Turning her back to Nick quickly, Maddy spilled some of her coffee on the table. Biting her lip, she looked for a moment like she was about to cry until Catherine handed her a couple of paper napkins that Gil kept in a holder on the kitchen table. She wiped at the pool of coffee viciously as she stuttered, "I—uh—I don't—I—"

"Don't worry, hun," Catherine's smile widened. "I'm just giving you grief. I know you're not a place to do anything, and I know what he looks like. I just want you to know he is a great guy."

"I don't date much, and my thoughts aren't even going there and I'm sure they won't be anytime soon," Maddy started rambling. "I just don't think I'm ready for that. I know I can't even think of it until he's caught. It's just not going to happen—"

"Madeline," Catherine interrupted, "I don't think Nick's ready for anything right now either. He's a good guy, and I think you both could use a good friend. That's why I asked him to come with this afternoon."

Taking a deep breath, Maddy started to answer, but Gil approached the table and spoke, "It's getting to be time for us to head into work, Madeline. What would you like to do tonight?"

"My house hasn't been released yet?" Maddy asked. Receiving a shake of the head, Maddy bit her lip.

"Jim said he'd call if he found Dr. Haste," Catherine spoke up.

Maddy nodded to that, unsure of what her next move was going to be when Nick spoke up, "Hold your thoughts, let me make a quick phone call." He took off into the living area.

"Jim will find him, Maddy," Grissom reassured her, sitting in a chair next to her.

"I know, Dr. Grissom—"

"Ah, ah, ah."

"I know, **Gil**, any friend of your's will do a good job. It's just hard," Maddy said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I just talked to Nora in HR," Nick came back into the kitchen, shutting his phone. "She told me where Maddy's paperwork was and said I can get it for her to fill out. It'll be one less headache on Wednesday when you go in."

"It's eight at night. Nora was still in the office?" Grissom queried.

A red blush creeping up his face, Nick stammered, "Look, she—ah, she gave me her number once…wanting me to—ah—call…"

"I don't think she meant to call for a favor for another girl," Catherine grinned.

"Whatever the reason, thank you, Nick," Grissom stopped his friend from giving the man a hard time. He turned to Maddy, "Is that okay with you? Do you want to come in tonight and fill out your paperwork at the lab? You can use my office, if you would like."

The smile reaching her eyes this time, she nodded. It sounded just like old times. She wondered if they would let her help.

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Author's Note: More action to come soon, I promise.


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

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Hhhmmm…who to contact in case of an emergency? Maddy wondered what Conrad would do if she put Dr. Grissom down. She glanced at Grissom. He was sitting at his desk, ignoring the paperwork and talking on the phone in hushed tones, as he had been doing for the last half hour. Maddy stretched her legs out and got more comfortable on the sofa that he had in his office. Ignoring the emergency question, she moved on. Who was she going to name her beneficiary in case she died while on the job? Morbid question…

"Maddy, do you feel up to meeting Sara?" Grissom ask, looking her way with his feet propped up on his desk.

"Hhhmmm…paperwork or a break? Bring her on," Maddy swung her legs off the sofa and tossed her papers in their place. She stood up, yawning, "Where is she?"

Grinning boyishly, Grissom stood up and spoke into the phone, "Come on over." He hung up, "She's in the layout room."

"Dr. Grissom, she didn't need to stay away. I didn't mean to keep you from your normal routine. I appreciate it, but—"

"But nothing," Grissom said as he went to the door and opened it, revealing a leggy brunette, Maddy assumed to be Sara, standing there, hand in the air, ready to knock. "Come in, honey," Grissom said, stepping back to let her pass. Leaving the door open, he gestured to Maddy, "Sara, this is Madeline Oaks, from LA. She's going to be our new forensic artist. Maddy, this is Sara Sidle, my…"

"The lady in Dr. Grissom's life, it's good to finally meet you," Maddy supplied the words as she stepped forward to shake Sara's hand.

Sara smiled sheepishly as she shook Maddy's hand, "You, too, Maddy. So, I hear you knew Gris when he was a teacher in LA, huh?"

Maddy sat down at the sofa, moving her paperwork to the floor, "Yeah, I knew him a lifetime ago."

"Before me even, and I thought I knew him a long time," Sara sat down next to Maddy, leaving Grissom standing, watching the two ladies converse.

"Maybe, but I have a feeling that you know him better than I do," Maddy gave a half smile, glancing at Grissom, inviting him to join in their conversation.

Grissom dryly noted, "Yes, but you never let up, Maddy. I said I just got a new tarantula and you invite yourself over to see it. I comment on an interesting mark on a dead body I just autopsied and you head to the morgue by yourself. I comment on my mother's deafness and you learn sign language, then ask yourself along for a weekend visit to my mother's house. You just never asked, you did."

Sara laughed listening to Gil quickly recount some tales of their shared past, "I wish I knew that secret. It wouldn't have taken us to long to get together."

Gil lifted an eyebrow, "I have a sneaky suspicion that wouldn't have worked because I **know** I've never thought of you as an annoying little sister I never had."

"Hey, hey, you enjoyed my company," Maddy defended herself.

"I want to hear more stories," Sara said leaning forward.

Grabbing his chair from behind his desk, Grissom moved to sit near the two ladies, "No, no, no, no stories, not now. I still have to work with you two."

Sara took the hint and asked, "Forensic artist, huh? Have you met Terri Miller?"

"Yes, I have. I actually studied under her for a while. How do you know Dr. Miller?"

Turning to Gil, Sara said, "Gil may be able to tell you."

"I only went on a date with her once and she left me when I got a call," Grissom defended himself.

"You're the bug guy?" Maddy asked laughing. "She told me about you. She never used your name though. That's just rich."

"Great, I'm a laughingstock across the country now," Grissom slumped his shoulders.

Maddy rolled her eyes, "Get over yourself. She was just disappointed that it never worked out. She delayed her flight and you still couldn't make time for her. I think it worked out better this way. If you'd gotten together with her, you wouldn't have gotten together with Sara."

A smile now on her face, Sara changed the subject, "So, when we find just a pile of bones, you'll help us identify the person?"

"Yeah, I also do facial reconstructions and say, you find only a partial tattoo on a decomposed corpse, I can tell you what the whole tattoo probably looked like. I'm a sketch artist, and I am really great at working with photos and video," Maddy rambled on.

"A jack of all trades," Grissom commented distractedly.

A commotion in the hallway drew all their attention. Standing up Grissom stepped out into the hall. Nick was yelling at someone and Detective Vartann was restraining him. They were blocking his view of whoever was the target of Nick's rage though. "YOU FIND HER AND RAPE HER AND JUST STROLL THROUGH HERE LIKE YOU'RE THE ONE BEING INCONVENIENCED!"

Vartann swung Nick around and pinned him against the wall, showing Grissom a very upset Jim Brass escorting a very smug Dr. Jacob Haste.


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

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Gil stood stock still, in shock. The last time he had seen Jacob had not been good. They had exchanged words, and Grissom had lost his temper. Something brushed his arm and he came out of his trance long enough to catch Maddy before she could confront her attacker.

"You—you—I'll—I—you," Maddy sputtered. Gil pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her, ignoring whatever Jacob started to say, knowing he had to get Maddy someplace safe.

He looked up and saw Sara standing in the doorway to his office. He said, "Madeline, go with Sara. Go into my office and wait." Sara took hold of Madeline and forcefully ushered her into Gil's office, then shut the door and drew the blinds.

Knowing she was taken care of, he turned to Nick who was still screaming. He placed a hand on Nick's shoulder, but Nick kept yelling, all his energy focused on killing the scum in front of him. He glanced at Vartann, then raised his voice slightly, "Nicky!" Nick stopped and gasped for breath, as he seemed to see Grissom for the first time. "Nick, you're not helping any. Go cool down. When you're ready, come find me." Grissom glanced at Vartann, who seemed to now be holding Nick up as all the fight went out of him. Nick nodded, wiping his brow. He looked at Vartann and nodded. Vartann let him go and he started down the hallway with Vartann close by. Nick stopped and turned around, which caused the large crowd to stop. The detective placed a hand on Nick's shoulder, keeping him in check as Nick pointed at the lanky scientist, "This isn't over, Haste. We're going to get you." His piece said, he turned and let Vartann escort him down the hall and out of sight.

Ecklie announced his presence by shooing the crowd away, "If you want to keep your jobs, get out of here, now!"

Grissom kept his head lowered as he seethed quietly in anger, knowing he could not blow up in front of the lab's entire staff. When the crowd dwindled down to Brass, a couple of uniformed officers, Ecklie, himself, and Haste, Grissom looked up at Ecklie, "Conrad, please leave."

"No, Gil. I have just as much vested interest in Madeline's welfare as you do," Ecklie argued stepped beside Grissom to face Haste.

Looking at him confused, Grissom finally shook his head and turned to his former mentor, "Jacob."

"It's good to see you again, Gil. You've made quite the name for yourself," Haste commented, as if catching up with an old friend.

"I wish I could say the same, Jacob. It seems your son took after you more than you first admitted," Gil said, in a low voice, looking him in the eye.

Haste shook his head, "You can't believe what that lying tramp has been saying. These officers told me she was making up lies again. I came along willingly, just ask them. I want to get this straightened and maybe we can get that poor girl some help."

"The only help that _poor girl_ needs is help getting you behind bars," Gil stalked towards the older man, his voice getting slightly louder with each word. Brass placed a hand on Gil's shoulder. He shrugged it off and said to his good friend, "Don't worry, I wouldn't dignify…_him_…with physical violence," turning back to Haste he continued, "he deserves to be sent to a prison where they show scum like him what it feels like to be brutally raped, where he gets foreign objects shoved so far up his rectum, he wishes he were dead, where someone makes him his personal bitch, and where the guards don't give a damn." With that said, Grissom turned to head back to his office, throwing over his shoulder, "Jim, please take him elsewhere. I'm not sure how long he will survive in this building." He then opened the door to his office. When he went to shut it, he was stopped. Gil spun around and found Conrad Ecklie had stopped the door from swinging shut behind him. Ecklie nodded to Gil's office. Grissom wasn't up to arguing with his boss, as he didn't really feel like losing his job anytime soon, so he entered and let Ecklie shut the door behind the both of them.

While Grissom took several deep breaths and attempted to calm himself, Ecklie looked at the sofa where Sara sat with her arm around Maddy. He knelt down in front of them and asked, "Are you okay, Madeline?"

"I will be," she didn't look him in the eye. Sara looked over Ecklie's head as Grissom watched Ecklie interact with Maddy, questions in her eyes. He shrugged.

Grissom sat on the other side of Maddy on the sofa, "Honey, are you really okay?"

When she looked up, Grissom and Ecklie both saw the tears streaking down her face. At that point, she realized that she was effectively blocked in. She stood, knocking Ecklie on his butt, and stepped around him, walking to the glass terrarium that housed Grissom's tarantula, she watched the hairy arachnid crawl around his enclosed space, wrapping her arms around herself. Grissom stood to follow her, but was stopped by Sara's low voice, "Leave her, Gris." He turned back to Sara, pain evident in his face. "She needs to regroup. Here, you and he, are acting like she's going to break. Give her time to get herself together," Sara said as she gestured to him and to Ecklie, who had now picked himself up off the floor and was seated in Grissom's desk chair that was still by the sofa.

Not knowing what else to do, Gil sat back down and turned to Ecklie, "Why do you two know each other so well?"

Ecklie ran a finger around his collar as he looked at the floor. Grissom gave him the time he needed to formulate an answer. He finally looked up at Grissom and said, "Madeline saved my job."


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

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Grissom chuckled, "Your job is in jeopardy?"

"I know, it's a dream come true for you, Gil," Ecklie looked up from his hands and into Grissom's eyes, "I know what you think of me. Yes, my job is in jeopardy." He glanced over his shoulder towards Maddy. As he looked back at his adversary, he asked, "Have you seen this month's American Forensics Journal?"

Glancing at Maddy himself, Gil said, "No."

Maddy busied herself by taking the tarantula out of her cage. Ecklie walked over to Gil's desk and searched through his pile of mail. Triumphant, he pulled a thick magazine out of the stack and tossed it at Grissom.

Surprised, Gil almost didn't catch the heavy issue. He glanced at the front cover and was shocked to see Maddy smiling back at him from over a pile of bones, a headline prominently displaying **America's #1 Forensic Artist**. He looked at the real life Madeline, who was holding his pet spider, Lindy. He flipped through the magazine, landing on the article which detailed Madeline's rise as the leading, and youngest, forensic artist in the country. _Wow_, he thought, _my Madeline grew up and I never realized it._ Grissom looked at Ecklie who stood with his hip propped against Gil's desk, arm crossed. "The sheriff wanted you to get the best and he considered Maddy the best, huh, Conrad?"

Ecklie took a deep breath before answering, "The sheriff wanted Maddy. So I got him Maddy." He stared at Grissom. The contest of wills was broken when a knock came at the door.

Jim stuck his head in. Looking at the seriousness of the room's occupants, he looked back to the men, "Gil, the good doctor is in interrogation. He's refusing to talk civilly to anyone, but you. Are you going to be up for this or do you want to wait a little bit longer? We have more than enough to hold him."

"He can wait. I need to finish this," Gil replied tensely.

Nodding, Brass shut the door behind him as he left.

Gil continued to stare at the closed door. He jumped when a cold hand grabbed his shoulder. He whirled around to see Maddy standing next to him, Lindy on her shoulder. She backed away, scared at his sudden movement. Gil apologized, "I'm so sorry, Maddy. You can't scare an old man like me."

She smiled, "It's okay, sir. I'll be okay. You can go see him."

He laughed, "You may be okay, but I'm not sure I will be. I need to calm down before I talk to _him._"

Maddy smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She went to go sit near Sara, but Sara raised her hands, "Please keep Lindy away from me." **This** caused Maddy to laugh.

Grissom stood and reached out, so his pet could walk onto his hands. When the tarantula made the journey, Gil brought her back to her terrarium. She grabbed the journal from where Grissom had tossed it. Sitting in Gil's vacant seat, she flipped through it. Stopping at the pages that featured her, she just looked. Gil came back and sat in the office chair. The three people watched Maddy, following Grissom's lead.

She looked up, past the group surrounding her, and said, "I haven't even seen this yet." She then turned to face Grissom directly, "I knew you were here, Doc. That's part of why I came."

"Alright, you've got to explain this relationship to me. I knew you studied in LA, but I didn't know you also knew Gil," Ecklie demanded from his perch high above the others.

This time her smile was mischievous and fully spread across her face, "Dr. Grissom was an instructor of my in LA. I also worked for him for awhile."

"Is this entire place going to become overrun with your groupies, Gil?" Ecklie asked incredulously. He then turned to Maddy, "And if you knew he was here and wanted to work with him, why did I have to spend all that time and effort wooing you into coming here? And why does Burdick want you so badly anyway?"

A blush crept up Maddy's face. She turned back to talk directly to Grissom, who was also looking curiously at her. He, too, wanted to know what was going on. "Weeelllll…The sheriff tried contacting me a little over a year ago, but I refused to talk to him."

"Why would you do that?" Sara asked.

Still looking at Grissom, Maddy started to continue, but holding her eye, Grissom answered, "Maddy's mother's maiden name is Burdick."

Maddy shared a smile of thanks with Grissom before looking at Sara then at Ecklie before looking at her hands again, "For those of you who do not know the saga that constitutes my life, my mother left me and Dad one night when I was just a baby." Maddy plowed right through, now turning to look at Ecklie, "Conrad, the only reason I took the job is that I found out the only reason Dr. Miller considered me for an apprenticeship is because of a conversation she had the sheriff when she was in Las Vegas. I figured I owed my good old uncle _something_. It didn't hurt that Dr. Grissom was here." Maddy looked at everyone in turn and asked, "Does anyone else have anymore questions?" Upon receiving no answer, Maddy stood and said, "Then I will try and find Nick. Doc, will you come find me after you're done with Detective Brass?"

Grissom nodded and watched Maddy confidently stride out of his office shutting the door behind her. An odd silence enveloped the room as Sara and Ecklie both looked at Grissom, who stared at the closed door. Ecklie broke the silence, "Well, that sure explains a lot."

Slowly, Grissom turned his head to face his boss, "Conrad, please leave. I have an interrogation to prepare for."


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

Author's Note: Sorry this will be short. Busy with work. Thanks for reading though.

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_Why? She's so young and innocent…Well, according to Cath she's only a little younger than me, but still…Why? _Nick stood outside in the parking lot, staring at the stars, thinking about Maddy, who he just met a few hours ago.

"They look so small from here."

Nick jumped a mile, "Girl, what are you doing here? I would have thought Grissom'd have you under lock and key by now."

Smirking, Maddy chuckled, "He tried. Yet here I am." With that Maddy sat down where they stood, right smack in middle of the parking lot.

Laughing heartily, Nick lowered himself to sit next to Maddy, starching him legs out in front of himself.

"Thanks for defending my honor," Maddy stretched her legs out in front of her and put all her weight on her arms behind her.

"It's nothing. That guy needs to be taken down a few notches anyway," Nick's cheeks reddened slightly as he kept his eyes on the stars above. A comfortable silence fell over the two. The mountains in the distance with stars twinkling from the skies above. The muffled sounds of traffic permeating the night. "How'd you find me?"

"That detective who escorted you away is sitting by the door, keeping an eye on you," Maddy grinned, sneaking a glance at Nick.

"Yeah, yes, Vartann got pretty scared. I guess I've been a little off kilter since my kidnapping. They're all a little worried."

The silence once again enveloped them as Maddy processed what Nick said. Finally Maddy asked, "Kidnapping, huh?"

Nick chuckled mirthlessly, "I can't believe I actually told you that. My shrink says I need to tell people about it. Talk about it. Now I tell you, a complete stranger it happened. Heck, I haven't even talked to my friends about it. Me, a grown man…got kidnapped." Shaking his head, Nick looked at the toes of his cowboy boots.

"And me, a grown female, trained in self defense, hell, Nick, I'm a first degree black belt. I got raped by a guy in his mid-sixties." Maddy stopped her own tirade. An evil gleam suddenly in her eye, she said, "We make quite a pair. Do you think we're safe out here alone? Should we call for police protection?" Maddy laughed. Her laughter was contagious because Nick started in. Pretty soon, tears running down their faces, they were laughing so hard they were gasping for air.

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"Where is Gil? You told me I could speak to him some time ago," Dr. Haste asked yet again as Brass sat in the room with him.

Jim just smiled, "Dr. Grissom will speak to you when he's ready."

"Well, what if I were to just ask for my lawyer?"

"You could, but I have a feeling that won't happen. You want to speak to Gil too badly," Brass folded his hands in front of him.

The door opened slowly and Gil slid into the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He looked at Brass and nodded, "Jim." His gaze turned to the room's other occupant before moving on without acknowledging him. Grissom sat down next to his good friend.

Brass asked, "How's Madeline?"

"She's good. She had Lindy out for awhile. I forgot how much she loved my pet tarantula back in LA," Gil smiled.

"She always did love her bugs," Dr. Haste spoke up.

Grissom's head quickly snapped towards Haste, "I was not speaking to you. You will not talk until I am ready to talk to you. AND you will not talk about Madeline." Seeing Dr. Haste's apparent surprise at being spoken to like that by his former student, Grissom turned back to Brass and continued on, "Jim, she's just a sweetheart. I'm happy that we'll be able to work with her. You know that painting in my office?"

"The one of the Vegas skyline?" Jim asked, interested in finding out more about his friend.

"Yeah, that one. She painted it. Now imagine what that talent being applied to catching criminals? Not only would she be able to help our sketch artist, she can tell us what a person looks like, if we only find the bones. I was just reading that she's now classified as the leading forensic artist in the country. Can you believe that? And she's only 29," Grissom smiled, shaking his head, trying his hardest to just think of the girl that had left his office only a short time ago.

"You don't say? Wow, she's brainy and she's beautiful. Can't ask for a better combination," Brass leaned back in his chair, trying to figure out what Gil was doing.

"She is. My mom just loves her. She just wants to learn and to please people. I guess that'd be one of her faults. She tries too much to please pe-"

"She does not. If she would have please my son more, he wouldn't have killed himself. It was all **her fault and you know it, Gil**," Jacob interrupted standing abruptly, knocking his chair to the floor.

Jim just watched, stunned, as Gil moved around the table to stand face to face with Haste, "She pleased your son so much that she became an abused woman, Jacob. It was not her fault." Gil spoke in a low menacing voice.

Almost touching noses, Haste screamed, "**It was her fault. She went on to make something of her life while she killed my son! I had to put her in her place. She asked to be raped. She needed me to do it!**"

Taking a deep breath, Grissom stood taller, watching the man he once admired. "And that is why you will be going away for a long time, Jacob. Rape, attempted murder-"

"There is no way you can put me away. That little bitch won't dare testify against me. You have no evidence. You won't even try to take this to court," Haste calmly stepped back himself, not seeming to realize he had just confessed to his crimes.

"Don't tempt me, Haste. We will take this to court and we will, and you will be going to spend time in jail where you will get to become someone's bitch yourself," Gil growled then turned and sat calmly down. Turning to Jim, he continued, "So, my mom just loves her. You know she went out and learned sign language when she found out my mom was deaf. She took a course on campus and did some continuing ed courses. She just wants to learn. Have I ever told you about the first time she saw a dead body?"

Haste stood watching Grissom for the longest time, rather confused at his hot and cold behavior. Slowly he bent over to right his chair so he could sit again as Brass said, "No, but this should be good."

"She had heard that I had a bruise on a victim that I couldn't identify the source. I was talking to a colleague in the break room, where she was studying. She just listened too us, then when I went to leave, I saw that she wasn't there, but her books still were. I walked back down the morgue, and who do I see, but Maddy standing over the body, face as white as a sheet. I started to rush towards her, but saw her get this determined look on her face. She turned around, took a deep breath, and turned back to the body. She studied that bruise, cocked her head sideways, and said 'Doc, it's the handle of a gun, see there's a JHW engraved in the handle. It's personalized. I think your killers initials are JHW.' And with that this thirteen year old had broken open the case-,"

"It wasn't her who broke it open, Gil. It was the DNA recovered from the car-"

"The DNA you collected? You wouldn't have known to look at that car if it wasn't for Maddy. Joshua Harvard Wilkes' car," Grissom said in a slow measured voice as he glared at the good doctor.

Brass laughed, drawing Gil's attention back to him, ignoring Haste, "So you're telling me that the world renowned entomologist was shown up by a thirteen year old?"

This caused Gil to chuckle as he turned back to Brass, "Yeah, yeah, but it my defense, that was the fifth body I had autopsied in as many hours…" Gil looked down at his hands, seeming to decide something. He then took a deep breath and raised his head…


End file.
